1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football
1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Sugar Bowl, L 14–31 vs. Florida State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 12
Record	10–3 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Cooper (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mike Jacobs (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Fred Pagac (2nd season)
MVP	Antoine Winfield
Captain	Winfield Garnett; Stanley Jackson
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Michigan $	8	–	0	12	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 15 Purdue	6	–	2	9	–	3
Wisconsin	5	–	3	8	–	5
Iowa	4	–	4	7	–	5
Michigan State	4	–	4	7	–	5
Northwestern	3	–	5	5	–	7
Minnesota	1	–	7	3	–	9
Indiana	1	–	7	2	–	9
Illinois	0	–	8	0	–	11

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled a 10–3 record, including the 1998 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they lost 31–14 to the Florida State Seminoles.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 28	8:00 p.m.	Wyoming*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (BCA Classic)	ESPN2	W 24–10	89,122
September 13	1:30 p.m.	Bowling Green*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		W 44–13	93,151
September 20	3:30 p.m.	Arizona*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 28–20	91,152
September 27	12:00 p.m.	at Missouri*	No. 7	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	ABC	W 31–10	58,882
October 4	3:30 p.m.	No. 11 Iowa	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (College GameDay)	ABC	W 23–7	92,536
October 11	3:30 p.m.	at No. 2 Penn State	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 27–31	97,282
October 18	12:30 p.m.	Indiana	No. 11	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN2	W 31–0	92,368
October 25	3:30 p.m.	Northwestern	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 49–6	92,445
November 1	3:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Michigan State	No. 9	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ABC	W 37–13	74,903
November 8	4:00 p.m.	at Minnesota	No. 7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN		W 31–3	47,706
November 15	12:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 4	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	ESPN Plus	W 41–6	92,008
November 22	12:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Michigan	No. 4	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–20	106,982
January 1, 1998	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 4 Florida State*	No. 9	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 14–31	67,289	^[1]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]

Roster

1997 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`7`	Joe Germaine	Jr
C	`77`	Tyson Walter	Fr
RB	`5`	Michael Wiley	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`1`	Gary Berry	So
DT	`73`	Joe Brown	Fr
LB	`32`	Na'il Diggs	So
LB	`45`	Andy Katzenmoyer	So
SS	`13`	Damon Moore	Jr
CB	`19`	Ahmed Plummer	So
CB	`11`	Antoine Winfield	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

John Cooper

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Coaching staff

John Cooper – Head coach – 10th year
Bill Conley – Tight ends & recruiting coordinator (11th year)
Jim Heacock – Defensive line (2nd year)
Mike Jacobs – Offensive coordinator (3rd year)
Fred Pagac – Defensive coordinator (16th year)
Tim Salem – Quarterbacks (1st year)
Shawn Simms – Defensive ends (1st year)
Tim Spencer – Running backs (4th year)
Chuck Strobart – Offensive coordinator (3rd year)
Jon Tenuta – Defensive backs (2nd year)

Game summaries

Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys at Ohio State Buckeyes

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Wyoming	3	0	7	0	10
Ohio State	10	0	14	0	24

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: August 28, 1997
Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 75°, Clear, wind 5-10 N
Game attendance: 89,112
Referee: J. Kemerling

Game information

First quarter

OSU - Stanley Jackson 41-yard run (Dan Stultz kick)
WYO - Cory Wedel 38-yard field goal
OSU - Dan Stultz kick 40-yard field goal

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

OSU - Michael Wiley 32-yard run (Dan Stultz kick)
OSU - Dee Miller 45-yard pass from Stanley Jackson (Dan Stultz kick)
WYO - Mike Jenkins 11-yard run (Cory Wedel kick)

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Bowling Green

Arizona

Missouri

#7 Ohio State Buckeyes at Missouri Tigers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio State	7	7	14	3	31
Missouri	7	3	0	0	10

at Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri

Date: September 27, 1997
Game time: 12:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 78°, Partly Cloudy, wind 5-10 S
Game attendance: 58,882
Referee: R. Christal

Game information

First quarter

OSU - Pepe Pearson 3 yd run (Dan Stultz kick)
MIZ - Corby Jones 8 yd run (Scott Knickman kick)

Second quarter

MIZ - Scott Knickman 27 yd field goal
OSU - David Boston 5 yd pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick)

Third quarter

OSU - David Boston 28 yd pass from Joe Germaine (Dan Stultz kick)
OSU - Michael Wiley 1 yd run (Dan Stultz kick)

Fourth quarter

OSU - Dan Stultz 28 yd field goal

Iowa

Penn State

Indiana

Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats (3–5) at Ohio State Buckeyes (6–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Northwestern	3	3	0	0	6
Ohio State	0	14	21	14	49

at Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio

Date: October 25
Game time: 3:30 p.m.
Game weather: Overcast • 58 °F (14 °C) • Wind NE 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) to 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)
Game attendance: 92,445
Referee: D. Witvoet

Game information

Northwestern

Tim Hughes
7/15, 63 Yds
Brian Marshall
7 Rush, 36 Yds
T. Waterman
2 Rec, 20 Yds

Ohio St

Joe Germaine
8/12, 177 Yds, 3 TD
Michael Wiley
15 Rush, 73 Yds
Dee Miller
5 Rec, 96 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	NW	OSU
1	11:47	8	33	3:13	Northwestern	27-yard field goal by Brian Gowins	3	0
2	12:02	14	92	5:18	Ohio St	Pepe Pearson 13-yard touchdown run, Dan Stultz kick good	3	7
2	6:14	12	61	5:48	Northwestern	36-yard field goal by Brian Gowins	6	7
2	0:27	2	43	0:14	Ohio St	Dee Miller 27-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good	6	14
3	10:28	7	55	2:54	Ohio St	Pepe Pearson 6-yard touchdown run, Dan Stultz kick good	6	21
3	1:56	13	59	6:01	Ohio St	Dee Miller 11-yard touchdown reception from Stanley Jackson, Dan Stultz kick good	6	28
3	0:03	3	62	0:50	Ohio St	David Boston 35-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good	6	35
4	9:49	7	64	3:02	Ohio St	Tom Hoying 29-yard touchdown reception from Joe Germaine, Dan Stultz kick good	6	42
4	5:31	6	80	2:57	Ohio St	Ken-Yon Rambo 38-yard touchdown reception from Mark Garcia, Dan Stultz kick good	6	49
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							6	49

Michigan State

Minnesota

Illinois

Michigan

1998 Sugar Bowl

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	9	9	9	9	9	7	7	7	11	9	9	7	4	4	9	9	9	12
Coaches Poll	9	9	9	9	8	7	7	7	12	9	9	8	4	4	11	10	10	12

NFL draft

For the first time since the NFL draft's inception in 1936, no Ohio State players were selected in the 1998 NFL draft.^[3]

References

^ "Florida State stymies Ohio St. in Sugar Bowl". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.
^ "Ohio St. Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

[1] "Florida State stymies Ohio St. in Sugar Bowl". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[encyclopedia-2] Park, Jack (2003). The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 1-58261-695-7.

[3] "Ohio St. Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois: Battle for Illibuck Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold